Bernadett Gurdon
Budapest, Hungary
Bernadett Gurdon began drawing at age 30 after feeling burned out from her job. Five years later the self‑taught artist is still enjoying the journey, having held her first online workshop at Flight of Foundry and collaborating with other artists on original characters. She also mentors other creatives, offering critiques and encouragement.
Artist Interview
Q: Your art journey began during a difficult period in your life, as a way to cope with burnout. How did art help you through that time, and how has your relationship with art evolved since then?
A: Oh it was a wild ride! Learning art demands so much from you, especially if you are doing it on your own: you are your own mentor, psychologist, best friend, student, life coach.... everything! And art is pretty clear about how you are doing: if you cannot draw something that shows. Pairing that with a difficult period wasn't always easy - my job burned me out and then, suddenly, there was this difficult thing that I wanted to learn and had no idea how much time it would take or how difficult it could be.
On one hand, it was good, because art kept me busy - and at the beginning I wasn't thinking of monetizing it or even sharing it on social media. But on another, it was very challenging, because I wanted to learn as fast as I could, and that meant I mentally punished myself so much - every time when a study sketch did not turn out as I wanted it to or a piece did not look as I imagined it. I compared myself a lot to other artists too. But with time I also learned this is not a healthy relationship with the thing that I wanted to do to have something for myself next to my job - I worked a lot on how I treated art, my art, allowing myself to make mistakes, because that is only normal, when we learn something.
Q: You call yourself an ‘accidental artist’ and a ‘late bloomer.’ What challenges did you encounter when starting your art journey later in life, and how did you overcome them?
A: Honestly, I don't mind I am being "late" with art - in the majority of my life I didn't even grab a pencil to doodle, but being an adult student definitely helped be to build up my learning journey. When I realized art is a bit more harder to do, then picking a pencil up and start to draw, the next thing I did was deep research of what I need to be a good artist. I knew what level I want to paint on and I could go back to the first step: art fundamentals.